flechero

All over the map... bring shorts and short sleeves and rain/cold weather gear. Alpster, Glad to see you are coming! I am going to take this Fork trip instead of the Nat'l Rodbuilding Show, should be a great week!! And I'l be shocked if you don't fill the other two spots in the next 24 hours!!

Yes, I have a feeling this is going to be a trip to remember!!

Just like fly tying... if you go to a Hobby Lobby or similar store, you can get hundreds of feather in all colors for a couple dollars. If you have a fly tying vice and thread bobbin, you can dress each hook in about 30 seconds from start to finish.

Count me in this year! Haven't fished Fork in several years so it will be nice to get back there. I just checked with the wife and she said, "that's 6 months notice, sure, you can go... better start saving your allowance!" ...lol Roadwarrior- My livewell will hold 4 sharelunkers for sure and I have a seperate built in cooler.

It took many days of "want to" before I actually worked up the curage to do it... I finally convinced her it was just as easy to wake up 10 minutes earlier and always be on time... I felt like it was a reflection on me that "we" were always 10 minutes late. If you ever try it, be prepared to couch it for a few days.

After countless angry trips, I no longer wait at all. I say I'm leaving at XX:XX time and I do. If you need to load gear, be there early because I pull out of the driveway at the specified time... one exception... a phone call BEFORE leaving time to say you are going to be a few minutes late, and that only buys 5-10 minutes. One guy used to avg 20-60 minutes late... once I put the foot down and left him, he's never been late again. I left my wife at home once (and went on to a family gathering) just to make my point. She wasn't impressed but she's rarely late anymore. ...lol Rules to live by... "I'd rather be an hour early than a minute late." -unknown

I believe "luck" is the residue of hard work and/or where chance and preparedness cross paths. Ever notice how most of the "lucky" people are also the hardest working and most prepared? I do not think it's a coincidence. Sure there are a few exceptions... just like there is always a lottery winner but for the most part this is true. I'm superstitious on one thing... the fish on the first cast. I used to think it was great but noticed that I never had a good day following that one... so all these years later, I make 2 short casts and work them quickly back to start each day. ...lol

Back to the original question... anything you do or learn that helps you to better understand and potential sponsor's business, and helps you to better understand how you can help them... will work in your favor. Being a great fisherman and having a track record of tourney wins is great but as fish chris and mattlures will tell you, tourney fishing isn't the only way to get sponsored. Both of those guys understand what they can do for a company, and with such info, have gotten sponsored. The point to that is that the education and business insight you have can only serve to increase your chances if coupled with a successful fishing background.

If the motor runs at all, you got a total steal on the boat. For that matter, the boat and trailer are worth the price you paid, not counting the motor and depthfinder. I say congrats! You got a great deal so use some of the money you "saved" and outfit it right!!!!

I'll suggest that opportunities are also a huge reason... Bass fishing is so popular now and so many people have bass boats to take their kids on that this and the next generation have the opportunity to learn very young, thus giving them more time to learn and also have us parents providing bass specific tackle, gear and knowledge. (sort of the earl woods effect) And your idea (especially the internet) compounds this. How many of us are self taught bass fisherman? I bet most of the guys here over 30 would fall into that category... where as, a larger percentage of the younger ones have had a good deal of help getting started.

Justtrying, You can get bearings at almost any hardware store... or you can ALWAYS get them at a bike shop... tell them you need some loose bottom bracket bearings. Even if you have to buy them in a ring, still only a dollar or two any you can pop them out of the ring.

Yup, you're right about that. Been doing a bunch of remodeling this year so even with a clean filter and ducts, the dust in the area stirs up. (haven't had the ducts cleaned yet though) Agreed... many people do not know that you only get close, for heat... the flame is never supposed to touch. I don't worry about bubbles from mixing, because when I pour it out on the foil and breath, the bubbles disappear.

97 degrees today in Belton... still have the A/C running nonstop. Well, your post inspired me to finish one tonight. I had one rod ready and one that I wrapped today so I went ahead and finished my new CTS worm rod tonight with Threadmaster. I'm angry though... after typing that response, I FORGOT to shut the vent!!!! > Yup, already have dust in the finish abnd it's only been turning for 30 minutes! Oh well, I may make this one a 2 coater... normally I opt for just one coat but I might sand a little put a very light 2nd coat on it. Experiment on a scrap dowel or something to see how much heat your finish will take and how quickly it thins out... that's good info to have AHEAD of a rod finishing session!!

I am 100% against flaming any finish. It does work perfectly for some people but not many. There are lots of things that can happen when you flame a finish... and only one of them is goodSo let me tell you what has worked well for me and maybe it will help you. If you need heat, you can use a hair dryer or a heat gun with a low (200 or so degrees) temp setting. As Ronnie said: That is mandatory in my book. (it will also let you know if you have mis measured a batch, the bubble will remain) The only other thing I do while applying the finish is to breath on each wrap as I leave it for the next one. I don't thin finish, but I use Threadmaster and it's about a middle of the road finish as far as viscosity. Once I'm finished with all the wraps, I put the rod in the 3 or 6 rpm dryer and get it turning. Then I grab the heat gun. Holding the gun about a foot from the guides, low temp heat for one revolution, which will remove any bubbles I missed and also thin the finish as flaming would do without the hazards. At this point, if I had applied too much finish, it would sag badly on the rotation and I can easily wick the excess, and the remaining finish will re-level almost instantly. If I had the correct amount on there, the sag will be minimal and will level back out in a minute or so. Let it turn a few hours and try not to disturb it... or the air in the room... nothing more agravating than dust in your perfectly finished wrap. > For that reason, I usually apply finish right before bed so I can shut the door to that room and close the A/C vent to keep things calm while finish sets overnight. There are as many ways to do this as there are rodbuilders... it will just take a little practice to figure the routine that best suits you. A wooden dowel from the hardware store is a cheap way to practice this stuff.

Rich, Welcome! Nice woodwork... looks like maple on the fly handle and walnut (or shedua) on the dark halves with maybe ash? (looks like a more open, porous grain, like ash or one of the oaks) Look forward to hearing some of the details.

Doubtfull, or else you'd rip it out on the hookset. This was my first thought as well. Seen it happen many times, and like you one particular lake was like this more so... I was going to suggest using a heavier rod next time to see if that helped you clear the jaw with the weight but the 854 should be plenty. Sounds like your variable is the boat moving around... so maybe you are setting hook on more slack line than you are used to. (and setting it hesitantly since you are in an aluminum boat which would be less stable)

Sounds like an incredibly rewarding opportunity!! If you love what you do, you will make "enough" money.

Are they running bait bait at the shore? I see this kind of action at my home lake and it's smallies, "pack hunting" craws... First time I ever saw it, they wouldn't hit the fluke which had worked all day so I threw a jig I had on, and caught fish after fish... This time of year, at least in our waters, smallies are hunting craws and we only catch a few on shad or baitfish type lures. But you can load the boat with jigs and other craw type baits.

Don't worry, there are as many people that prefer 11, 14, 18 as there are like me... probably has more to do with what you learn with than anything else. As long as you are not turning fast enough to sling finish off the rod!! ...lol I think my preference for the slow motors is twofold- the slower turn gives the finish a chance to move, showing me if I've applied too much. Secondly, once I apply finish, I can really inspect each guide as it rotates... I can't see small bubbles if it's spinning much faster than 6 rpm. I can work on the bubbles or even guide foot tunnels while the rod is spinning. If I have applied too much, I can wick excess while it's turning at low speed. Just be sure the rod is level when it's turning... otherwise you'll have finish built up on the low side.

Good advice already give so I'll just add 2 quick things. I would wrap the ferrule on a casting rod 3/4"-1" as it will (we all hope!) see much more pressure than a spinning or fly rod used for the same situations. As for drying motors, I like them slow... I only use a 3 rpm and a 6 rpm now. I turn the rod by hand when applying finish. I started with the 6 rpm which I actually bought to turn epoxy head flies with, and have experimented with faster and slower... slower gives me more consistent results.

It's not a link... you have to type it in with the www. in front. Here is one from today, in the Raleigh area...

I'm with you, I'm pretty fond of my 19' Champoin with NO payments!!

Oh, just wait... it happens! It's usually a big fish and she'll smile as she surfaces & spits the bait back at you!

That was the idea... it would have beed a really thick book if he went into detail on everything. He makes some assumptions in that if you are going to build rods you would have an idea of what rod(s) you might like. You might check out mudhole.com they carry st.croix SCIII SCIV and SCV, g. loomis IMX & GLX, amtak and several other brands of blanks. Shikari is another blank to look at. CTS tournament series is a personal favorite, they are special order though, as they come from new zealand and it can take a while to get them. Also, you might look at the batson blanks, the rx7 and rx8 blanks are always well spoken of, they are at fishsticks4u.com. Guides- if I can make a suggestion... buy alconites for the first rod... they are great guides but cheap enough to order a a variety of sizes and quanities that you can experiment with. You are sort of "on your own" when starting out... as to which guides/sizes & quanity you'll need... This may help you... most of my bass rods start out w/ a (12 or) 10 butt guide. If I was blindly ordering for a 7' casting rod, I would likely order a 12, 10, 8, 7, 6,6,6,6,6 and TT (bfat) the 12 is a blnag and the rest are blag (fly guides, single foot) That is a few extra guides and sizes to cover anything you'd build for bass. (if you use blag guides and are building a spiral w/ bumper, order an extra 8 and 7 as you need a height option.) If you plan to build many rods, you will end up with an inventory so that you can build anything you want without having to order guides everytime. I now stock several different guides... alconites and hardloys are great for that, since they are not expensive. Your next step should be to order paper catalogs from mud hole and angler's resource... you'll learn a lot about blanks and components from just reading through the catalogs... you'll pick up different things in print vs. on-line. As you look through the available blanks and look at the line and lure ratings, I think you will develop a preference if you compare it to the rods you own already... I hesitate to steer you in a direction yet... I think it would be better for you to narrow the field some before we push you in a direction. The only thing I will suggest on that is to maybe make the first one a less expensive blank... just in case something goes wrong. It all sounds like a lot but really once you get familiar with the components and a few processes, it will not be overwhelming.

I guess I'm the odd man out, my first 2 bass over 10 came on buzzbaits. And although there were bigger fish in the lake, I think it's safe to call 10+ a "big" fish. Used to fish private water with a lake record of 12 and change... caught several 7-8 lb fish on topwater there. Those were big for that lake. For the most part I'll agree with that... but rarely are people throwing topwater in the trophy bass haunts.